


Together We'll Be

by hanbunnotsuki



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 16:07:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13414815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanbunnotsuki/pseuds/hanbunnotsuki
Summary: At the end of a mission, Team Voltron find a lost space-puppy, separated from its pack. While they try to get the little one back to its family, the team adopts it as one of their own.Even the briefest and littlest encounter can leave its mark on one's heart.





	Together We'll Be

**Author's Note:**

> A short fic I wrote for a zine last year! Enjoy.

“Welcome back, Team Voltron!” Allura warmly greets the Paladins upon their return, her hands clasped together. “Wonderful work out there! Is everyone all right?”

A chorus of groans answer her question, all of them simultaneously starts rubbing some sore part of their body. The battle was brief, yet vicious; the berserk Uphu had given Voltron quite the beating.

“Indeed, you have defeated the monstrous Uphu very swiftly! But, a word of advice, perhaps you can refrain from tripping Voltron over moments before the battle,” Coran, who stands beside her, adds while stroking his moustache absently.

“That one was on me, sorry.” Hunk winces, holding up his hand, looking chagrined. “Should’ve watched out for that boulder and raised the leg higher. Won’t happen again.”

“We’ll work on your coordination and movement efficiency when we get back on our way.” Allura’s statement is met with more groans of complaint, to which she rolls her eyes at. Humans do need quite a bit of maintenance. “After you have some time to recover, of course.”

“What about the villagers, Princess? Did they manage to relocate safely?” Shiro asks while taking off his helmet. Allura can’t be more thankful to have at least one responsible and thoughtful member in her team.

“Yes, the Krynts have taken refuge in an underground alcove. They have prepared sustenance there to last them long enough until they are sure it is perfectly safe to return to rebuild their home,” Allura replies. “Apparently, this was not their first visit from the Uphu.”

“This particular Uphu may be defeated, but how can we be sure there won’t be another one?” The question comes from Keith, and Allura turns to him.

“We can’t,” Allura answers gravely, a crease forming between her brows. “But I’ve given them a communicator so they may contact us if they are ever in trouble.”

“I hope there won’t be another one,” Pidge says, looking solemn. “It’s sad how they have to build their home over and over again.”

“Yeah, I hope so too.” Hunk gives Pidge’s shoulder an assuring pat, then raises his head to look at the others. “Anyways, do we have to, uh, give them a visit to say goodbye? Or do we just go? Hate to be rude, but I’m  _ starving _ .”

“I’ve thanked the Krynts for their hospitality and also bade them farewell on the behalf of all of you, if that’s all right,” Allura says. “It would be best to give them space after–”

“Hey, hey guys, can you hear that?” Lance raises a finger, and everybody quietens.

“Hear wha–?” Keith is quickly shushed by Lance, who raises his finger higher, as if telling them to hear more closely.

After a few ticks of quiet, there’s a low crying howl coming from a distance. Lance is already on his feet, bounding after the source of the sound before Allura can even warn him not to.

“Lance, wait! It might be dangerous!” Shiro calls out, taking off to give chase to their Blue Paladin, and before long, the rest of them start following. Allura sends Coran an exasperated look, only to get a helpless shrug in return, and the two of them trail after their human companions.

When they’ve caught up with him, Lance is kneeling, his back to them, blocking whatever it is still making that howling sound from their sight.

“Heya little fella, it’s okay, we’re not gonna hurt you.” Lance makes soothing noises at it, but the howling noise increases in intensity, the creature obviously in great distress.

“What is that?” Keith steps closer, peering over Lance’s shoulder.

Standing to the side to get a better look, Allura covers her mouth with her hand, muffling a soft ‘oh’ that escapes her lips. She was about to answer Keith when Coran beats her to it. “Why, it’s a Noosood! And a young one, at that.”

“What’s a Noosood?” Hunk throws the trembling little creature a curious look.

“Aww, it looks like a puppy!” Pidge kneels down next to Lance, cooing over the creature but still maintaining distance.

The Noosood youngling looks like a typical Noosood, with moppy green fur covering its whole body, so thick that you can’t tell where its eyes are, it’s signature set of floppy ears, and a round antenna on top of its head. Its tiny tail is hidden out of sight, probably curled up in fear.

“A Noosood is a kind of space canine. They travel in packs, floating across space, moving from planet to planet. They’re tough, but harmless in general, and are quite the gentle species,” Allura explains. “This little one must have gotten separated from its mother when its pack moved out of this planet.”

“Its pack must have panicked at the appearance of the Uphu and fled in a hurry, not noticing they left a youngling behind,” Coran adds.

“So he won’t chew my fingers off if I touch him, right?” Lance takes Allura’s brief description of the Noosood as permission to extend a hand to the creature. It’s too late to stop him, but Allura will make sure he’ll be given an extensive lecture on alien creature contact protocol later. “Poor little guy, you must be really scared, huh?”

The little creature stops trembling to sniff at Lance’s outstretched fingers but then retreats to curl up again.

“Is there any way we can help it?” Shiro asks with concern.

“I’m afraid it can only wait for its pack to come back for it, though it’s doubtful they will, what with getting a fright from an Uphu.” Coran folds his arms, the lines of his face deepen in contemplation. “And the Krynts is not a society that keep pets. I’m afraid if we give it to their care, the little one will just become, uh,  _ sustenance _ .”

“Yikes. Then, we can’t just leave it behind! Can’t we take it with us?” The suggestion comes from Pidge, who turns to look at Allura pleadingly.

She knew someone would ask that question, eventually. Allura keeps her voice firm, no matter how pitiful the little Noosood looks. “No. The Noosoods are not pets to be domesticated. We cannot keep it.”

“I’m not saying we have to keep it  _ forever _ . We’ll just keep it until we find its pack!” Pidge counters stubbornly, before widening her eyes and jutting her lower lip in a pout. “Pleaseee?”

“Oh come on, Allura! You heard Coran, if we leave it here, the poor thing will just cry itself to death or get served as dinner!” Lance has somehow coaxed the creature enough to pick it up, and he holds it up towards Allura. “Pleaaase?”

Hunk appears next to Lance, with matching puppy eyes and a pout. “Pretty please, Princess?”

The little thing lets out a bark, and Allura can feel her heart wavering.

She turns to Shiro and Keith for support and gets a helpless smile and a shrug. She turns to Coran, who hesitantly proposes, “I suppose we can copy the Noosood’s distress signal emitting from its antenna, jack it up, and relay it to space, wait for its pack to come for it?” and Allura knows that she’s lost.

The Altean Princess heaves out a defeated sigh that is met with a handful of cheers.

She can only hope this whole thing will go well.

* * *

 

They set up a pen for the Noosood. There’s a blanket to provide it comfort, some food goo and water, some scrap paper for its toilet, and a ragdoll Lance had sewn for it to play with. The little creature still seems skittish, though after a while it shows movement, sniffing around, exploring its new temporary home.

“All right, team. We’re going to have several ground rules regarding the Noosood.”

Allura’s statement goes unnoticed to the excited Paladins, who are huddling around the pen, keeping their voice low enough as to not startle the creature. Even Coran is among them, sharing tidbits of random Noosood trivia, eager to educate the others. The mice are present too, giving their newly-arrived guest curious looks and squeaking their greetings.

The Princess clears her throat loudly, and finally, heads turn towards her.

“Rule number one. No naming the Noosood.” There’s already a sound of protest, but Allura quickly raises a hand to cut it off. “It will just make you more attached than necessary.” And makes it even more painful when it’s time to part ways, but she doesn’t say that part out loud. “Rule number two. We’ll take turns in pairs taking care of it, meaning no one will skip practice to play with the Noosood. Rule number three. No sneaking the Noosood into your rooms. Understood?”

The response comes in various forms of acknowledgement, several dragged ‘yes’, and several succinct ‘understood’.

“Good.” Allura nods, though a part of her is certain some of the Paladins will try to sneak around the rules one way or another. For now, she’ll take their word for it. “Coran and Pidge have managed to capture and recreate the Noosood’s distress signal, so we shall relay it at regular intervals until the pack comes for the youngling. But for now…”

All eyes are on her, when the corners of her lips stretch to give way to a bright smile. “For now, let’s take a well-deserved break to welcome the newest resident of the Castle of Lions.”

There’s a whoop of cheer as Allura joins the others to stand by the Noosood pen. She extends a hand carefully towards the creature, who after a reluctant sniff, decided to greet her with a gentle lick.

It’s a subtle movement that’s too easy to miss, but Allura believes she saw its tiny tail wagging just the slightest bit.

 

* * *

 

“So, a space-travelling dog, huh? Are there a whole lot of them out there?” Lance asks. 

“Noosoods are actually quite rare to find! They’re a species that avoids contact with other creatures outside their pack, and are quite adept at hiding themselves from detection,” Coran starts to explain. “And with how they migrate from place to place, no one ever knows exactly how many of them there are.”

The two of them are sitting down on the floor, both watching the rise and fall of the dozing little blob of green fur.

“Do you hear that, little pal?” Lance whispers conspiratorially at the sleeping creature under his breath.” You’re going to grow up to be a space  _ ninja _ -dog.”

Reckoning that the little Noosood had become more comfortable, or at least less wary with its surroundings, Lance and Coran had let it out of its pen during their first turn to Noosood-sit. It pitter-pattered around, turning its head here and there, its antenna twitching, eager to venture into new territory though staying on high alert. The two caretakers had hung back and observed, giving words of encouragement whenever the little creature looked hesitant to take a step.

After wearing itself out, the Noosood had plopped down on the floor and nodded off to sleep.

“What other cool things can they do?” Lance says, eyes not leaving the current cutest thing in the Castle. “Can their eyes shoot lasers? Do they have supersonic super-growls?”

“No, like I said, they are gentle creature that avoid conflicts. Their abilities are mainly–”

A sudden screech startles them out of their conversation. When they realize the sound is coming from the Noosood, it’s already up on its feet, darting around in panic before sitting down again, its small body shaking profusely. The pair quickly make their way to its side.

“What’s–what’s going on? Is it okay? Is it hurt?” Lance’s face is twisted in worry as he hovers over the creature, unsure if he should touch it. Its screech has died quickly, only to be replaced by heart-wrenching whines. “Little bud, what’s wrong?”

Coran gathers the youngling into its arms, stroking its fur and giving soft shushes to calm it down. The shaking lessens perceptibly after a few beats, but the whining doesn’t stop. “Poor thing. It must be looking for its mother.”

Boldened by Coran’s example, Lance joins in petting the Noosood. His heart clenches with sympathy, the sadness of missing his own mother has never completely left him. “Shh, shh, it’s okay, you’re safe here. We’ll find your mother soon.”

Coran starts humming a tune, probably some Altean song, as he continues to caress the creature. Lance moves his hand to the unfamiliar melody as the whines turn into whimpers, and the whimpers finally turn into quiet.

 

* * *

 

“Heya, pal! You up for a walk?” The Noosood barks while running in excited circles, as if it understands Pidge’s words, its tail wagging so quickly it becomes a blur. Pidge kneels down to give the little creature scratches, laughing delightedly when she gets slobbering licks in return.  “Look at you, you precious little thing! Yes, you are!”

When it’s Shiro and Pidge’s turn to take care of the Noosood, they always spend most of their time taking long walks around the Castle. At first, it had taken quite the effort to get the youngling to come along with them while making sure it didn’t wander around and got lost. But the Noosood had learned quickly, perhaps the born instinct of pack animals to follow the leader, and now it welcomes the sight of Shiro and Pidge with great excitement.

“Ooph! Easy, now.” Shiro chuckles when the little creature tackles his legs, watching his steps when it starts barking and hopping around.

They start on their way, walking at a leisurely pace to wherever their legs take them.

“Don’t go too far, Buddy!” Pidge shouts a warning when the Noosood suddenly bounds to the front. It stops on its tracks and turns its head, tongue lolling out as if telling them to catch up. “Boy, do puppies have the energy.”

“Pidge, we’re not supposed to name it, remember?” Shiro knows his reprimand lacks bite, not even bothering to hide his smile.

“If it’s ‘buddy’ with a little ‘b’, then it doesn’t count as a name, right?” Pidge throws him a mischievous grin, making him shake his head fondly. “It’ll be fine as long as Allura doesn’t find out.”

The two trail after the little Noosood, who’s rather keen on exploring new areas today, bounding up and down flights of stairs. Pidge sometimes picks up her pace to nudge the creature away from getting too close to the edge. 

“You’re really used to taking care of a dog, huh?” Shiro points out.

“Yeah, Matt and I took care of our dog, Spot, ever since he was a puppy. He was just like Buddy when he was a young one, jumping around all over the place. But with much less fur,” Pidge says, looking a touch wistful. “He’s an old man, now.”

Shiro hums in acknowledgement, recalling the times when Matt showed him pictures of his pet. “That sounds nice. I’ve always wanted a dog.”

“Why didn’t you get one?”

“My mother’s allergic,” he answers. “Didn’t let me keep anything but goldfish.”

“Goldfish are nice too, but I guess you can’t really play with them, so that’s no fun.”

A bark draws their attention back to the Noosood, who’s whining impatiently, urging them to walk faster. The two share a laugh.

“We’re coming, Buddy!”

 

* * *

 

“Sit.”

The little Noosood tilts its head, seemingly confused at the command. It wags its tail, but does nothing else, simply enjoying the attention.

Keith frowns, pulling back his hand that’s holding the treat Hunk has made for the creature. “No, you’re supposed to do this.” He pushes the Noosood’s backside down lightly with his other hand, directing it to do the ‘sit’ pose. The treat is then quickly offered to the Noosood, who chomps at it happily. “This is ‘sit’. Get it? Sit.”

The small thing barks in answer, but Keith doubts it actually comprehends what he’s saying. He’s repeated the attempt to teach the creature this one simple trick several times, with little success. He wonders if adding a hand gesture to the command would make it easier to learn?

“You gotta be patient with it, man. Keep repeating a few more times, establish the conditioning, channel your inner Pavlov,” Hunk comments, handing him another piece of Noosood treat, before petting the creature on its head. There’s a big jar full of the handmade treats cradled in his arm. “Keep the food going, add some affection, and voila.”

“How did you make these treats, anyway? It likes it a lot,” Keith says while trying to fend off the youngling, who’s scratching its paw on his leg in the hopes of getting more treats.

“Oh you know, some ingredients from here, some ingredients from there, and a little magic.” Hunk takes a bite off of one, and offers Keith another piece, and says between bites. “Made the cookie cutter myself, pretty neat, huh? Kinda tastes like choco chip cookies. You wanna try one?”

Keith takes the proffered treat, eyeing it gingerly. It’s shaped like a bone, too identical to earth’s dog treats that it’s slightly off-putting, but still, he takes a bite. “Mmm. It’s… good.”

“All right!” Hunk grins, pumping his fist and hands him another one.  

“So let’s try this again,” Keith states, holding the newly acquired treat between his thumb and index finger, dangling it above the Noosood’s head. This time, he adds a hand gesture to the command, giving the creature a pat, and a low murmur of praise for good measure.

A few more tries and Keith almost gives up, deeming the effort futile, when suddenly it finally happens.

Keith holds the treat up and calls ‘sit’, and the Nooosood sits, patiently waiting to be given the treat. He smacks Hunk’s arm repeatedly in shock at the sight, snapping the other teen out of his reverie. “Hunk! Hunk, look!”

And when Hunk does look, he gives out a loud cheer. “You did it, little dude!”

A wide grin stretches across Keith face as he feeds the Noosood its prize, patting the creature in renewed excitement. “Great job.”

 

* * *

 

Allura wakes up one night to the after-image of her father’s smile, her nose chasing after the phantom scent of the flower of her homeworld. 

She takes a moment before opening her eyes, her heart aching, longing to go back into her dreams, where she can still hear the echoes of King Alfor’s laughter. The mice’s squeaking causes her to turn to the side, flickering her eyes to will away the tears that are starting to form. Then she smiles.

“I’m sorry to have woken you, my friends.” The squeak intensifies, and through their bond, Allura can feel the mice in distress, worrying about her. She sits up, and they climb up her arm to perch at her shoulders, trying to comfort her by staying close. “I will be fine. Would you like to join me on a walk? We can get some fresh air for a change.”

The mice squeak out their agreement, and together they set off towards the dim halls of the Castle. She means to go to the bridge, but at the last minute, decided to take make a stop at the Noosood pen.

She’s tried to make as little noise as she could, yet the young creature still stirs, sleepily wobbling its way to the edge of the pen to greet her with a yip.

“I’m sorry I woke you, young one.” She bends down to offer her hand in greeting, getting an enthusiastic lick in return. “Care to join me for a while?”

Allura gathers the Noosood in her arms and makes way for the bridge, where she takes her designated helm seat.

In the quiet, she watches the great expanse of space; the hundreds and thousands of stars, twinkling from galaxies far away. The mice have nodded off to sleep, still perched on her shoulders, and the Noosood has started dozing, the rise and fall of its breath against her lap a soothing rhythm.

“When I was child, my father used to say that my mother was out there, amongst the stars,” Allura whispers lowly, as not to wake her sleeping friends. “She passed away when I was so young, I could barely remember her.

“I remember asking my father one time, if we could go and visit her.” A sad, wistful smile tugs at the corners of her mouth as she recalls her father’s troubled face back then. “I wonder if he’s there with her now, with all the other Alteans.”

She strokes the Noosood absently with one hand, running her fingers through its soft, green fur. “If they are amongst the stars, I hope they’ll help lead your family back to you.”

They stay like that for a little while, tucked into each other, sharing their warmth in the gentle silence of the night.

 

* * *

 

The day to part comes knocking on their door all too suddenly. 

It comes on a peaceful day at the Castle of Lions, when there are no distress calls hailing them, no Galran ships chasing after them.

Everyone is off on a break, unwinding after a long day of training, taking the time to just relax and enjoy each other’s company. Allura sits back and watches her team, smiling amusedly as she observes their antics.

Lance has put on some Earth music in the background, songs that he proudly calls ‘the classics’, whatever that means. He, Coran, Pidge, and Hunk are having a ‘dance battle’, each pulling a different kind of moves, all of which, to Allura’s eyes, looks quite odd. But the sincerity in their movement and the joy they exude are all too charming that she can’t help clapping and cheering after each performance.

Keith doesn’t join the dance battle. Instead, he’s kneeling to the side, trying to get the Noosood to dance along with them, his pockets filled to the brim with treats he’s using as an incentive, though without much success. Finally, he takes the Noosood’s front paw and hefts it up, swaying it to the music. The youngling takes the dancing demonstration in a stride, mouth open and tongue lolling to the side, not resisting the least. They make a very cute picture together.

Shiro is standing by her side, humming and tapping his foot along with the beat.

“You’re not going to join them?” Allura tilts her head up and asks.

“Nah.” Shiro chuckles. “It’s much more fun to watch.”

Allura hums her agreement and was about to say something else when suddenly, the blaring alarm startles all of them out of the moment.

“What was that?” Hunk freezes his motion, his voice stiff.

Without another word, Allura propels herself out of her seat and hastens towards the bridge. She can hear the others following, not far behind her. The doors slide open and she dashes in, taking her seat at the helm and turns on her holoscreen to assess the situation. Her mind is reeling from the possibilities of Galran warships and space pirates, already preparing to raise the shields and activate the defense drones.

What she finds instead makes her pause.

“What is it, Princess? Is it an attack?” Shiro is in position, bracing for whatever is coming.

“No, it’s…” She turns on the holovid and sets in on zoom for the others to see. “It’s the Noosood pack.”

The group of creatures are staying a good distance away, but the Castle has picked up the signal they’re relaying back to them, triggering the alarm. The signal that says they’re here to rescue their young.  

There’s a series of gasps, and eyes turn to the little Noosood Keith has brought along with him to the bridge.

“They did it! They found you, little fella! Your family’s here for you! You’re–” Lance’s excitement tapers off at the end of his sentence. “You’re going home.”

A pregnant silence fills the room.

They all look at each other, their eyes saying what they won’t say out loud. They’re not ready, not yet, but Allura thinks they’ll never be ready for this moment. So she takes a deep breath and exhales the words that they don’t want to hear.

“It’s time to say goodbye.”

She can see the hearts of everyone in the room breaking, not excluding hers. They’ve all befriended their little guest, spending time in its company, and of course, they’ve gotten themselves attached. Even Allura, who warned the others not to, and who should have known better, has let the little creature crawl into her heart, not realizing until it was too late.

One by one, they start to form a circle around Keith, reaching their hands out towards the curious Noosood. They take turns petting the little creature, more for their comfort than its, and Allura can even hear a few sniffles.

“Take care of yourself, buddy,” Pidge murmurs, the first to pull her hand away.

“Stay close to your family this time, you hear?” Then Shiro takes a step back.

“We’re gonna miss you, pal.” Lance leans down to give the Noosood a quick kiss.

“Eat well and grow up strong, okay?” Hunk sighs, wearing a sad smile.

Keith stays silent, but when the others have stepped away, he hugs the Noosood closer against his chest.

“Coran, please escort our guest out and see that it is safely returned to its family.”

“Aye, aye, Princess.” Coran salutes and coaxes the Noosood out of Keith’s arms. The Red Paladin looks petulant over releasing his hold on the creature, but he passes it to Coran nonetheless.

Allura moves towards Coran and strokes the young creature’s furry head one last time. A smile creeps up her face when she notices its wagging tail. “We are honoured to have had you here. I wish you the best of luck on your journey.” She goes back to her position, nodding to Coran to let him go on his way.

They watch in shared silence as the holovid shows Coran taking a shuttle to approach the pack of Noosoods.

“Wish I could’ve packed some snacks for the little guy.” Hunk sighs again, his head hung morosely. He looks up when Lance rests a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. “But I guess it’ll be hard to eat in outer space.”

“Do you think it’ll remember us when it grows up?” Pidge asks to no one in particular.

“It will,” Keith answers, nodding his certainty. “It’s a smart one.”

“Who knows, maybe we’ll meet it again someday.” Shiro smiles reassuringly at the others, getting a few weak smiles back.

The holovid shows the shuttle inching back to the Castle, and Allura sets the camera zoom to better view the youngling. The creature is looking back to the ship, tilting its head to the side, as if asking why its new friends aren’t following. Allura is tempted to turn off the feed right then and there. 

Then, the other members of the Noosood pack start to crowd their long-lost young in a joyous reunion, greeting it by rubbing their heads together, some grooming the youngling by licking it all over. Before long, they’ve lost sight of their little friend in the tangle of grown Noosoods.

They watch on as the Noosood pack slowly break out of their huddle and get into formation, ready to go on their way. They catch one last glimpse of their Noosood friend, looking back to the ship once more, before turning to its family and setting off on its journey.

 


End file.
